This invention relates to improvements in, to, and of airbone vehicles of the fixed wing type and, more particularly, to the wing(s) thereof.
As a preliminary matter, it is to be noted that the term "airborne vehicle", as used herein, is intended to mean a vehicle, craft, structure or the like, which is capable of airborne flight. Such airborne vehicles may include, but are not limited to, airplanes, gliders, and drones; and, such vehicles may also include missiles, spacecraft, and the like, when they are within the atmosphere.
It is also to be noted that, in the interest of simplicity, our inventive improvements will be shown as incorporated in only one preferred embodiment adapted specifically for use with an airplane having a mid-wing configuration. This adaptation is solely by way of illustration, and not by way of any limitation.
It is a continuing goal in the airborne vehicle art to delay drag rise to as high a Mach number as possible. In the prior art, a drag rise delay to Mach number 1.1 has been attained with symmetrical fixed-wing type airplanes.
Our invention significantly advances the state-of-the-art by delaying drag rise of fixed-wing airborne vehicles to a Mach number of 1.4, a new height in the art.